Contents

1. Introduction

9. Liquid Handling

2. Fluids

10.Microarrays

3. Physics of Microfluidic
Systems

11.Microreactors
12.Analytical Chips

4. Microfabrication Technologies
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13.Particle-Laden Fluids

5. Flow Control

a. Measurement Techniques

6. Micropumps
7. Sensors

b. Fundamentals of
Biotechnology

8. Ink-Jet Technology

c. High-Throughput Screening

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3. Physics of Microfluidic Systems

1. Navier-Stokes Equations
2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow
3. Fluid Dynamics
4. Fluid Networks
5. Energy Transport

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6. Interfacial Surface Tension

7. Electrokinetics

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through a Tube
5. Laminar PDF through a Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3.2.1. Critical Reynolds Number

Three types of flow conditions
Laminar
Low flow velocities
Smooth sliding of adjacent layers
Field of velocity vectors constant in time

Turbulent

Curling of field lines

Mixing between adjacent layers
Unpredictable" development of field of velocity vectors
Flow patterns increasingly turbulent towards high velocities
Sometimes laminar flow preserved up to higher velocities
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Periodic flow
3rd flow regime
Surface waves
Acoustic waves

All three flow types solutions of NS-equation

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3.2.1. Perturbation Analysis

Transition from laminar to turbulent flow regime
Mathematical perturbation analysis
Prediction whether velocity distribution belongs to distinct flow regime

Ansatz
Known solution of NS-equation (guessed or measured)
Superimposing small perturbation
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Product of
- Amplitude
- Oscillatory factor
- Exponential term

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3.2.1. Perturbation Analysis

Properties
Locally varying amplitude A
and constant for given problem
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Insertion of perturbed solution in NS as initial velocity field

Result: First order equations of and
Sign of indicates decay of perturbation into v0

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3.2.1. Critical Reynolds Number

Condition = 0 defines critical Reynolds number Re*
Re < Re*
Perturbations damped in time

Re > Re*
Exponential growth of perturbations in time
Perturbation theory not valid
Unpredictable behavior of velocity field
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Transition point Re = Re*

Flow oscillates between two flow regimes

As Re increases further, turbulent character of flow increases

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3.2.1. Critical Reynolds Number

Re* ranges between 1 and 100,000
Re* depends on
Material properties (density, viscosity)
Boundary conditions
Critical velocity

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Microdevice
l = 100 m
v* = 25 m s-1
Hardly reached in microdevices

Re* geometries
Sphere: 2320
Flow parallel to plate: Re* = 500,000
Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3.2. Laminar Flow

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Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

3.2.1. Critical Reynolds Number

Transition point also depends on
Initial velocity field
Experimental environment

Domain Re < Re*

No survival of initial turbulences

Domain Re > Re*

Laminar flow still possible under certain conditions
Turbulences hampered by
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- Smooth walls
- Smooth endings at orifices

Laminar conditions up to Re = 100,000

Re > 100,000
- Thermal motion of molecules sufficient to trigger transition to turbulence

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

10

3.2.1. Shift of Re* in MF Systems

In MF-systems

Channel diameter 100 m

Flow velocity v = 10 mm s-1
Flow rate Av = 6 l min-1
Re ~ 1 << Re* ~ 2300

Always laminar flow in MF-systems?

Departure of Reynolds theory in microworld

Much higher surface-to-volume ratios
Higher sensitivity to surface roughness
Reliable results only with smooth surfaces and stabilized pumping
Some results indicate early departure from laminar flow regime
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- 300 < Re* < 900 or 200 < Re* < 700

Avoiding artificially induced nucleation of turbulence

- Smooth walls
- Steady pumping

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through Tube
5. Laminar PDF through Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

12

3.2.2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow

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Flow imposed on fluid by mere shear forces

Viscous fluid sandwiched between two plates

Wall at x = 0 at rest
Wall at x = d moving at speed v0 = const. in z-direction
Viscous force density
Stationary flow

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow

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Boundary conditions

Linear flow profile

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.2. Prandtl Boundary Layer

d increases until Re > Re*
Turbulent regime

Laminar regime restricted to

Tiny layer < d near moving body
"Prandtl layer"
Diffusion-limited mass and heat transfer
Decisive impact on mass and heat exchange in macrosystems
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Estimate for thickness by energy analysis

Viscous work

Spent when body traveling at v0 covers distance of its own length l

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

16

3.2.2. Prandtl Boundary Layer

Setting adjacent fluid into motion requires kinetic energy

Assuming linear flow profile within Prandtl layer

Setting equal kinetic energy and viscous work yields
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Typical MF-values: l = 1cm, d = 100 m and Re = 1

1 cm >> d
Fully developed Prandtl layer therefore not found in MF systems
Attention
- Re increases with speed of flow

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

17

3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through Tube
5. Laminar PDF through Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

18

3.2.3. Couette Flow

Azimuthal symmetry

Purely azimuthal fluid motion

Cylindrical coordinates (r, , z)
Velocity field v(r)
Pressure distribution p
Symmetry reduces NS-equations
and continuity equation to
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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.3. Couette Flow

Azimuthal symmetry
Purely azimuthal fluid motion
Cylindrical coordinates (r, , z)
Velocity field v(r)

Ansatz

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Solution

small
~r

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through Tube
5. Laminar PDF through Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

21

3.2.4. Laminar PDF through Tube

Pressure-driven flow
Important phenomenon in nature
E.g., transport of nutrients in plants and animals by heart
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Law of Hagen-Poisseuille
Pressure drop
Throughput

Symmetry
Parabolic flow profile
Cylindrical symmetry
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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.4. Laminar PDF through Tube

Pressure forces
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Viscous forces

Relationship for stationary flow (dvz/dt = 0)

Fp =
F
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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.4. Laminar PDF through Tube

Integration
Extension of auxiliary cylinder of radius r to tube radius r0
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Flow velocity profile

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.4. Laminar PDF through Tube

Maximum velocity (in center at r = 0)

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Average velocity

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3.2.4. Flow Rate

Volumetric flow IV determined by integration of vz(r) dA over r0

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Law of Hagen-Poiseuille
IV scales with r 4

Average velocity
Alternative expression for Reynolds number
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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.4. Throughput

IV ~ r 4 = A2

Hagen-Poiseuille

A0/4
A0

I0,V ~ A02

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IV ~ 4 (A0 / 4)2 = I0V

IV ~ N (A0 / N)2 = (1/N) I0V

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.4. Hydraulic Diameter

Based on law of Hagen-Poiseuille for cylindrical geometry
PDF through duct with non-circular cross-section
Equivalent hydraulic diameter

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3.2.4. Hydraulic Diameter

Round tube

Square tube
Edge length
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Annular geometry

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3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through Tube
5. Laminar PDF through Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.5. Laminar PDF through Gap

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Pressure-driven flow

No (external) shear or volume forces

Parallel plates
Laminar regime
Pressure gradient antiparallel to direction of flow

No-slip conditions

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.5. Laminar PDF through Gap

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Rectangular element

Width 2x
Length l
Depth b
Cross section Ax = b l
Fore-part Az = 2 x b

Total velocity gradient across element 2 dv / dx |+/-x

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.5. Laminar PDF through Gap

Differential relationship

Parabolic flow profile

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Peak velocity

Overall volume flow rate IV per channel width y

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through Tube
5. Laminar PDF through Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.6. Irrotational Flows

Vorticity

Vanishes in irrotational flows

Vector identity
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Vanishing divergence of vorticity

For vanishing vorticity, i.e. irrotational flow, v can be written

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.6. Potential Flow Theory

Basic building blocks
Set of special flow schemes
Analogous to multipole concept in electrodynamics

Mathematical point of view

Special instances of Greens function
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3.2.6. Velocity Potentials (2-dim.)

Simplification
2-dim. velocity field v = (vx, vy)

Velocity potential
Scalar

Stream function
Scalar
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monopole
dipole

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3.2.6. Hele-Shaw Table

Visualization of basic 2-dim. flows
Uniform stream over floor to drain
Bottles
Raised or lowered to adjust gravitational pressure
Connected to through holes

2-dim. flow (top view)

Sources and drains
(monopoles)

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Holes

Doublets (dipoles)
Source and sink very close
to each other
Bottles spaced by same
distance above and below
floor

Sometimes transparent
cover to ensure uniform
depth
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3.2.6. Bernoulli Equation

Continuity equation
Irrotational flow
Navier-Stokes
Rewritten
Using vector analysis
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General form of Bernoulli

vanishing
vorticity

Integration
in space

Bernoulli
Stationary conditions
Integration in space

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

39

3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through Tube
5. Laminar PDF through Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow

Flow Profile

Laminar flow only driven by centrifugal forces

Fluidic duct with radius r0, angular frequency
Stationary conditions, incompressible fluids
No-slip boundary conditions
Neglecting inertia and pressure effects

Solution: z-dependent flow profile

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At center
r

Velocity profile typically more flat than in PDF

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.7. Comparison to PDF

CD

PDF

Parabolic velocity profiles

Relation between steepness of velocity profiles
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Example

z = l = 1 cm
= 1000 kg m-3 (water)
p = 1000 hPa
= 500 rpm (single speed CD player)

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

v^ 2.7 103
PDF profile much steeper

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

42

3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through Tube
5. Laminar PDF through Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

43

3.2.8. Taylor Dispersion

Axial dispersion of solute in laminar flow
Dispersion of drugs in blood flow

Situation
Steady state flow
Round tube

Hypothetical absence of diffusion

Solute follows flow profile

Molecular diffusion

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Counteracts dispersion
Axial spreading at
Deff t
Radial diffusion exchanges solute molecules between layers

MF example
v = 1 mm s-1 , r0 = 100 m , D = 3 x 10-9 m2 s-1
Second term prevails over unity
Effective constant for axial diffusion ~ D(1 + c D 2)

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.8. Hydrodynamic Focusing

Situation
Microscopic tip at end of
capillary
Sucking in liquid
from larger vessel
Laminar regime
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Full solid angle projected

onto tiny orifice cross
section

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3.2.8. Hydrodynamic Focusing

Example:
Ink dispenser near orifice of capillary
Vertical position within capillary adjusts to transversal shift of
dispenser

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3.2.8. Reversed Experiment

Fluid plug expelled from orifice of capillary into larger tank
Small velocity
Laminar

High velocity
Turbulent

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

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3.2.8. Application to Cytometry and Mixing

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2. Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1. Critical Reynolds Number
2. Shear-Driven Laminar Flow
3. Couette Flow
4. Laminar PDF through Tube
5. Laminar PDF through Gap
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6. Irrotational Flow
7. Centrifugal-Force Driven Flow
8. Effects in Laminar Flows
9. Turbulent Flows

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

49

3.2.9. Turbulent Flows

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Turbulent flow in tube for Re > Recrit

Turbulent profile

Velocity vectors unpredictably oscillating in time

Time-averaged profile
Much flatter profile than laminar flow
Tendency for flattening grows with Re

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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.9. Turbulent Flows

Throughput according to Blasius (1883-1970)

Laminar

Approximations well above 3Re*

p

l

0.57

r0

2.71

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Mean velocity

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

0.57

r0

0.71

51

3.2.9. Scaling of Mean Velocity

Turbulent

Laminar
Pressure gradient
Radius
Density
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Viscosity

Same pressure gradient applied to tube

Smaller turbulent flow velocity

Turbulent velocity varies with density

Flow energy dissipated by turbulent mixing

Laminar flow
Viscous forces between smoothly sliding layers

Turbulent regime
Enhanced flow resistance
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Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.9. Entrance Effects

Laminar

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Turbulent
Microfluidic systems
Re ~1 and r0 = 100 m

Microfluidics - Jens Ducre

zdevel = 10 m (laminar)

Physics: Laminar and Turbulent Flow

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3.2.9. Friction Losses

Surface roughness
Local eddy formation
Darcy-Weissbach relation
Pressure loss
Flow velocity
Friction factor
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f = const. for smooth tube

and laminar conditions

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3.2.9. Roughness-Viscosity Model

Surface roughness induces turbulence in boundary layer
Surface roughness height
Roughness viscosity
Adding to bulk viscosity

Surface roughness Reynolds number

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Empirical factor

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